Collapse in Greek Eurozone talks fails to spook market

US stock futures and Asia share markets had fallen overnight, but there was no sign of panic in Europe

A report said the German Government no longer believes it would be too risky for the 19-member Eurozone if Greece dropped the currency (Getty )

Despite talks between Greece’s finance ministers and those from the Eurozone collapsing last night, investors kept a cool head this morning.

Investors kept a cool head in early trading despite eurozone finance ministers and Greece failing to reach an agreement on the country's bailout during talks last night.

US stock futures and Asia share markets had fallen overnight, but there was no sign of panic in Europe following the collapse of the discussions in Brussels.

The euro and French and German stock markets moved only slightly lower, while the FTSE 100 edged higher, adding 5.97 points to reach 6863.02.

Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at Spreadex, said the sustained strong performance by oil had supported Britain's blue chip index.

Signs of declining inflation in January's consumer price inflation reading may have worried some in the markets, Campbell said, but may also be seen as a driver behind the higher-than-expected growth the UK is forecast to undergo in 2015.

Inflation fell to 0.3% in January from 0.5% in December, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Greek government wants to scrap its existing bailout deal, which has been worth 240 billion euros (currently £177 billion) from other countries (AFP)

Greek markets were among the worst hit in Europe, with Athens' main ATG share index down by more than 4%.

Both the eurozone and Greece raised the prospect of another attempt to find common ground before the end of this week, though patience has frayed on both sides and time is running short.

The European Central Bank is set to decide on Wednesday whether to maintain emergency lending to Greek banks, and the state faces some heavy loan repayments in March

Without support from creditors, the Greek government and banks would face a looming euro cash crunch, possibly opening the way for Greece to become the first country to ditch the common currency altogether and re-introduce its own currency.

Most analysts still expect an agreement on a debt deal, however.

Deutsche Bank's George Saravelos believes that though the current bailout deal expires on February 28, that is not the “point of 'no return'”.

A deal could still be reached, it's just that the time pressure to do so has increased, he added.

Additional reporting by Reuters